Tips on Playing

[dbassist]

I'm fairly new at playing the bass, though I play on average 3 to 4 hours a day. It may sound like alot for a 14 year old, but I absolutely love the bass. I have 3 electric basses and have learned them quite well. I just bought a Cremona full-size double bass and love it even more than the electric.
I was wondering if anyone had any tips for me.

[Jake]

Dbassist,
That's great that you like bass playing so much. To aquire a solid basic technique, you almost allways need to study classical with the bow, even if you play jazz. Scales, arpeggios, etudes, solo pieces, and orchestral music will help you in many ways- intonation, comfort of approch, musicallity, and sound whether pizz or arco.
My teacher Jeff Bradetich (U of North Texas) just put out an excellent video totally dedicated to technique (L hand and R hand). I recomend it because those technique totally turned me around. It's $20 through Lemur or Shar.
And most importantly get a good teacher that
inspires you to practice. GOOD LUCK!!!

[contrabassman]

hey my teacher told me this if you practice your scales and arpeggios really slow with lots of pressure on your bow and then still slow but super soft everything in between will be so much easier

[kpo]

Really?! A 14 year-old playing a full-size instrument? Most folks play 3/4 size basses; it's become the standard size. "Full size" it too unwieldly for most anyone.

The suggestion concerning scales and arpeggios is a good one. Western music is nothing but scales and arpeggios cleverly arranged.

[beer_slammer]

what today is termed a "full-size" bass is usually actually 7/8.
7/8s are often mistaken for 3/4.

full-size basses are pretty rare, yes, even the 7/8 are pretty big.

[Blackbird]

It should be easy to confuse a 3/4 with a 7/8, as a 3/4 is a 6/8.

Hey, after learning fractions, algebra and whatnot, I might as well use it, no?

Will C.

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I'm not a genius. I'm just a hard working guy.
-BW

[Chris Hodges]

Youtube these cats (if you haven't already):

John Clayton
Ron Carter
Rufus Reid
Avishai Cohen
Eddie Gomez
Ray Brown
Dave Holland
Christian McBride